Phantom Limb
by austynmichelle
Summary: A story in which Luna tries to help George accept the loss of his Twin brother Fred.   Short story, plans to be about around 16 chapters with possibility of a continuing story if feedback is good
1. Chapter 1

A white marquee once again stood in orchard of the Weasley yard. A celebration of love and life was being held in honour of Bill and Fleurs newest addition, Victoire. The vast open space was crowded with friends and family and an array of unfamiliar but intriguing scents. The guests were piling in, some heading straight for the food others for the dance floor, it wasn't till the veela cousins started to show up did a wave of emotion hit George. Jerking his head away he stared at his empty plate that he couldn't find the desire to fill. He felt the chair beside him move and someone sat beside him. Rons plate was full of exquisite looking food and the smells assaulted his senses.  
>"Want me to get you some food mate?" Harry asked sitting on Rons other side.<br>"N-no I'm alright." George proceeded to look at his plate as Ron and Harry shared a glance, it was then that Hermione showed up lacing her hand with Rons she pulled him away to dance. It wasn't till Ginny showed up that Harry looked at George again.  
>"Do you mind mate? I don't really fancy leaving you alone..."<br>"No go on have fun you two." His smile though present on his lips did not reach his vacant eyes.  
>Harry hesitated, then followed Ginny out to the dance floor.<br>George was finally alone. It was the way he liked it, he'd spent most of the last year in his room when he wasn't helping his mum around the house or being dragged to the shed for his father to show him some new muggle contraption that he had enchanted. But even alone the ghosts still haunted him, at least when he was alone he could deal with them. Everyone was worried about him, he wasn't stupid he noticed how they watched him like he could go off at any minute. They all tip toed around him like one false move and he might disappear. He was stronger then they give him credit for, he knew that. He also knew they all cared but it doesn't change the fact that if they kept treating him like this that he might actually crack.  
>"Hello George" Interrupting his train of thought he looked up to find Luna Lovegood sitting in Rons vacated chair. How long had he been thinking? The sun had set and he saw Muriel had fallen asleep on a table near bye.<br>"Hello Luna."  
>She just watched him making him feel slightly uncomfortable.<br>"What is it Luna?"  
>"Your ear, well what's there any way, does it hurt?"<br>As if by habit George lifted his hand to the hole in the side of his head, like he was surprised it wasn't there, maybe expecting to find that his ear was back but of course it wasn't.  
>"Umm, not really I don't even notice it's not there most days, sometimes I even think that maybe it is still there." He had no idea what he was doing telling all this to Luna, but it had been too long since someone had really talked to him.<br>"Phantom Limb" Luna said mutely in her dreamy voice.  
>"What?" Georges confusion was evident.<br>"Well sometimes when people lose a limb or a part of their body, it still feels like it's there working with the rest of you."  
>George took a minute to ponder this as he thought back to the sensation a minute ago when he truly thought that maybe his ear had returned.<br>"Oh, I really do love this song."Luna said swaying in her seat closing her eyes briefly.  
>"Luna, do you want to dance?" Georges request shocked even him.<br>"Sure." Luna smiled as she stood and took Georges hand walking him to the dance floor. Her reaction was typical she never did seem surprised. It would be an exaggeration to say the world stopped but everyone in the room looked on with surprise as George put his hand on Lunas waist and they began to dance.  
>George was extremely uncomfortable with all the attention and his hand began to shake.<br>Luna looked at him till he met her eyes.  
>"Don't bother worrying about them George, it's the wrackspurts,it's confusing them."<br>George looked at her and smiled, it was probably the most real smile he had given in a year. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

After that night things went back to normal. Luna returned home and life at the weasleys continued as it always had. One morning the next week Ginny awoke relatively early. She tiptoed downstairs to help herself to something to eat when she heard someone talking in the sitting room. Slightly frightened, she peered in and was relived to find that it was only George.(She had forgotten that he had been sleeping on the couch in there on and off for the last year.) A nightmare was clearly taking place inside his troubled head. Ginny considered waking him before she heard him mumble;  
>"No, not Fred please, please take me instead."Silent tears streaked down his cheeks.<br>Ginny hesitated for a moment but instead of waking him she left a note for her mum and went outside to wait for Luna.  
>They had been planning a trip to Diagon Alley for a few weeks now, Luna needed some sort of book and Ginny was going along to check up on Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.<br>Ginny sat quietly drinking her tea on the front porch, wondering if maybe she should have woken her brother up.  
>"No, he wouldn't have liked that one bit." She thought, "George has been so quiet and to himself, not even crying since the..." She couldn't even think about it without tears flooding her eyes. She wiped them away just as Luna came prancing over the hill.<br>"Hey, Luna why is it you're wearing two different shoes?"  
>"Well you see the Nargles seem to have hidden one of every pair I have. But I figured since we were going into London I did need to wear something on my feet."<br>Ginny smiled, "Yes well I guess you did didn't you."  
>Ginny and Luna caught a ride with Mr Weasley on his way to work assuring him they'd find a way back home when they were done.<br>The girls decided to get what they needed to do out of the way first. After stopping to see if they could find Lunas book in Flourish and Blotts, she was extremely disappointed to see that they didn't carry "The history of Heliopaths" that she wanted to get her father for his birthday, Their next stop was Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Ginny knew that since it was wednesday Ron wouldn't be working but they decided to stop in anyway. The shop was very busy, with the school year closing in fast everyone wanted some new tricks to play. They found Verity at the cash register in the back (she had been managing since the shop reopened.)  
>"Hey Ginny!" She called over the swam of giggling girls buying love potions. "Just hold up a sec I have something for your brother!"<br>Soon as the girls left Verity slipped into the back room coming back with a box and some papers.  
>"I just need him to approve these, I was going to send them with Ron on friday but if you don't mind taking them now..."<br>"Oh no, yea I'll take them."  
>"What are they?" Luna peered into the box with great interest.<br>"Well, they're secret message quills, Fre- I mean Mr and Mr Weasley had a prototype but they kept getting the messages wrong and the ink instead of disappearing would blow up, but they work fine now I just need George to sign off on them." Verity explained, it didn't go un-noticed that she avoided saying Freds name.  
>"Oh well that's interesting." Lunas smile was genuine and Verity perked up a bit when the bell at the cash register went off.<br>"I better go, these kids will be the end of me I tell you." And with a smile she was gone.  
>Luna and Ginny spent the rest of the day looking through the shops and they stopped briefly for lunch before heading home.<br>Upon returning to the Burrow, Mrs Weasley invited Luna for dinner.  
>"Oh well I don't want to be a bother." But Mrs Weasley insisted joking that she always made too much food anyway, because there was a lack of mouths to feed these days.<br>Dinner was delicious, Mrs Weasley soup was the best anyone had ever tasted.  
>"How's your father these days Luna?" Mr Weasley asked<br>"Oh well he's been gone for the last month you see looking for another Crumble-Horned Snorkack Horn." Luna told them taking another bite of her soup.  
>"Luna dear, how long is he supposed to be gone?" Mrs Weasley questioned, playing her part as a concerned parent.<br>"I'm not quite sure,"Lunas eyes sparkled as she thought looking down into her soup "Last time he was gone for 4 months though he sends me an owl every 2 weeks."  
>"Oh, sweetheart you mustn't stay all alone in that broken house!(Lunas father refused to fix the house insisting that the horn that had blown up had special healing powers and that the house would eventually fix itself) We have plenty of room, you will stay with us till your father returns." Mrs Weasley left no room for questioning.<br>Luna smiled and agreed and when she looked up, George was looking away.


End file.
